Kolonia, Pohnpei: February 6, 2017. On December 13, 2016, the Interim Board of Directors of FSM Alliance of NGOs (FANGO), after consultations and discussions among various key NGO stakeholders, selected Mrs. Janet S. Panuelo to the position of Executive Director, on a voluntary basis during this challenging period of FANGO, to assist the Board of Directors and the FSM Civil Society to build capacity and strengthen FANGO as the FSM national representative body for the civil society and the NGOs.Mrs. Panuelo brings to FANGO great wealth of experience, having served in various capacities in the NGO community of the Pacific being a staff of PREL in Hawaii and FSM, board and advisor of Pohnpei Women Council, board member and co-founder of Conservation Society of Pohnpei. In her capacity as the Administrator of the Office of Social Affairs for Pohnpei State Government, she had oversight on women, youth and senior citizens’ interests.FANGO Board has great confidence that, with Mrs. Panuelo’s involvement in the management of FANGO at this critical stage of organizational re-strengthening, all stakeholders - governments, and support organizations - will be willing to provide technical and financial assistance to enable FANGO to better serve the interest of FSM Civil Society and the NGO community.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)The implementation of the “Resilient Water Station” Utilizing Natural Energy is finally underway for the Chuuk State Government in partnership with Ichigo Holdings CO., LTD and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Ichigo Holdings Team was dispatched to Chuuk from January 7th to 13th, 2017 for the purpose of installing the water purification system on the island of Weno, Chuuk. This type of mobile water treatment system will aim to provide stable and sustainable safe drinking water supply for daily usage and under emergency situations.Honorable Marius J. Akapito, Lt. Governor of Chuuk later accompanied the Team to the project site to witness the first series of installation of water purification systems, all of which are Ichigo Holdings product from AQUANEXT (Seawater-type: Model SW-NE5 & SW-NE1, Blackish-Type: Model BW-GS5 & BW-GE5, and Manual-Type: Model BW-HP) for Chuuk State. Lt. Governor Akapito drank the first sample of the purified water on the first day to confirm the quality of the water and its safety for the people of Chuuk’s daily use.These water purification systems will continue to run during normal times to ensure that the systems are operable during emergency situations. The target areas and beneficiaries are Weno Island and certain surrounding islands in Chuuk.

By: Emihner Johnson, IFCPIsland Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP) was invited, along with other sectors to take part in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Parent Literacy Week which started on January 23 to January 27, 2017. . IfCP was asked to present on Nutrition Effects.On January 23, 2017, ECE started this workshop of Parents of ECE students attending the ECE Centers in Kolonia which consist of Ohmine and Kolonia Centers. This workshop was held at the Pohnpei State Gym in Dolonier. IFCP Presents the Recommendations for Children within the age range of 4-5 of the following Behaviors to reduce or prevent obesity:

Sleep – 10-13 hours of sleep within a day(24hrs)

Screen Time- 2 hours or less(watching TV, video games with no PA)

Vegetable Intake – 1Cup local vegetable in a day (local not canned imported)

Fruit Intake – 1Cup local fruit in a day(local, not canned imported)

Physical Activity – at least 1 hour or 60 minutes in a day

Drink water- Drink water or coconut, avoid sugar-sweet drinks.

The second day of the workshop was held with the same theme to the Parents of Uh and Nett ECE Centers at Pohnpei Gym in Dolonier. There were 125 parents attended the workshop. On the third day, the workshop was held at Sekere GYM to the ECE parents of Sokehs ECE Centers. There were 115 parents attended the workshop. On the fourth day, this workshop was held at Pohnalamwahu Church to the ECE Parents of Kitti ECE Centers with 97 participants. On the last day, the workshop was held at Sapwalap Church with 86 parents of the ECE Centers in Madolenihmw.IFCP would like to thank Dept of Interior- TAP program, Pohnpei State Government – Dept of Health Services, Bill Raynor Estate, Late Dr. Lois Englberger & Family, and the FSM Health for their financial support.

In cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the government of the Federates States of Micronesia, USAID recently celebrated a major milestone as part of its Typhoon Maysak Reconstruction Project. In response to 2015’s Typhoon Maysak, USAID responded with a $50 million project to rebuild houses and public infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the typhoon in Chuuk and Yap states.USAID collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders across the globe to implement U.S. assistance needs. For decades, USAID has utilized well-established implementing partners to monitor development results, improve aid effectiveness and coordination, and enhance transparency and social accountability. USAID has partnered with IOM on a variety of projects across the globe, including fighting Ebola in West Africa, providing agricultural support in Papua New Guinea, installing solar power in Haiti, and setting up food distribution centers and shelters in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015 which killed thousands. The Typhoon Maysak Reconstruction Project represents a result of the established USAID and IOM partnership.

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressFebruary 8, 2017Pohnpei—Ambassador Ryoichi Horie and his wife Yuko hosted a reception for Japanese residents of Pohnpei and for friends of Japan at their residence in Nanpohnmal on the evening of February 8. The reception was a late celebration of the New Year. Ambassador Horie greeted his fellow countrymen in the Japanese language and continued in English.He reminded the attendees that next year will be the 30th anniversary of Japan FSM diplomatic ties. “Towards 2018, I hope that our two countries will continue to work together to further strengthen our bonds of friendship,” he said. “For such purposes, this year is very important.”He announced that in two weeks’ time a Japanese team with two famous scholars will visit Pohnpei to start a Nan Madol related project. He said they would have exchanges with political and traditional leaders here. “I hope that our cooperation for the conservation of Nan Madol and tourism promotion to the FSM will be further enhanced and strengthened this year,” he said.The reception was beautifully decorated with stunning flower arrangements assembled by Mrs. Horie from flowers collected from the home garden of Joe and Ichiko Vitt.

Former President Manny Mori also spoke to the crowd of the deep bonds of kizuna between Japan and the FSM. He thanked the Japanese people for their many contributions to the development of the FSM and said that he anticipates that relationship and cooperation will extend long into the future.Afterwards a magnificent dinner was served.

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressFebruary 8, 2017Kolonia, Pohnpei--It might seem strange for Kolonia Town to have paved what amounts to about a three block stretch of road in front of and alongside Joy Hotel and Restaurant but Kolonia Town Mayor Jose San Nicolas says that it is a pilot project. The project also served as a training ground to teach employees how to use the new equipment purchased by San Nicolas’ construction company, VCS Construction and an innovative asphalt paving product called “Liquid Road Ultra Blend” made by “SealMaster”.John Moody, Vice President of the independently owned franchise Seal Master, Hawaii said that his company has been working with Pohnpei for a year and a half. “I told them that if they buy the product I would be here to provide training and support, and that it works,” he said.“Liquid Road Ultra Blend” was applied during the pilot. It is an asphalt water based sealcoat, hot blended latex, fiber reinforced and with four pounds of sand per gallon. No heat is involved in the application and it needs no heavy rolling machines to make it smooth. As water evaporates from the road surface, it smooths out. Two applications are required.It goes down very fast. The first coat on a block long section of road took one and a half hours.Moody showed us a cell phone photo of a patch made over a year ago in Kolonia using a SealMaster cold applied product that appears to be holding up very well.“We have been in business for over 120 years in Hawaii. We have been doing SealMaster since 2003, and we just received the Franchise of the Year award for 2016,” Moody wrote in an email.Mayor San Nicolas said that during the next year, Kolonia hopes to repave all of the roads in Kolonia Town and also to put in a sidewalk from the Botanical Gardens through to the “Tuna Commission” building.Kolonia Town doesn’t have the money to do the two projects. FSM Senator Ferny Perman who represents Election District #1 in Pohnpei which includes Kolonia Town says that the money to pay for the project will come from a special projects allocation from FSM National Government. He estimates that the cost will be more than $300,000 for both projects.Perman said that although the pilot project was conducted using SealMaster products, he has also been looking for a potential alternative resource for comparison.VCS does not have the project locked down, though they now have the equipment. The projects will be open for competitive bidding.

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressFebruary 7, 2017Pohnpei—Assistant Attorney General Judah Johnny said this morning that he didn’t feel that the plaintiffs in the Sea Cucumber case had proved their contention that the Mwoalen Wahuen Pohnpei exists during the hearing that took place in January.Partially based on an April 2016 letter to Governor Peterson from the Nahnmwarki of Sokehs Herculano Kohler saying that the Mwoalen Wahu en Pohnpei had disbanded, the defendants in the case filed a motion to dismiss claiming that the plaintiffs in the case did not exist.Our eyewitness sources for the story we wrote on the January hearing on the matter said that Billston Charley, Liaison Officer to the Mwoalen Wahu supplied minutes for five meetings of the council of traditional leaders. That did not in fact happen. They also said that Charley had testified that the minutes of the meetings were also supplied to the Office of the Attorney General. Out sources also were incorrect on that statement. No such testimony was ever given and Johnny says that the AG’s office has never received minutes of the meetings.

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressFebruary 1, 2017Pohnpei—Today Pohnpei State filed an eight count criminal information against former Governor John Ehsa centered on allegations that on October 8, 2014 he approved a travel authorization for himself in the amount of $13,000 to travel from Pohnpei to Pohnpei. The stated use was for representation funds.The report that was forwarded to the Attorney General’s office by the Compliance Investigation Unit (CIU) of the Pohnpei Office of the Public Auditor found that “the travel authorization was not valid, and therefore, the advance of representation fund money was inappropriate.” The report also indicated that John Ehsa has not filed a travel voucher or other accounting for use of the funds.

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressJanuary 31, 2017Pohnpei—With the theme “Recognizing and Celebrating Learning Achievements”, the Pohnpei Department of Education celebrated Education Day at the COM-FSM China Friendship Gym in Palikir. Unlike previous events which most often involved only the educators themselves, this year’s event included students from all over Pohnpei and recognized their achievements along with those of the educators who helped them to achieve.It was a very long event, but those who were in attendance and able to stay to the end seemed never to be bored, especially given the large number of awards and special performances by teachers and students. Representatives of the School Districts raised their various flags and students of Madolenihmw High School sang the state anthem. Vicar Father Ken Ormolug gave the opening prayer beginning with the reading of prayer of a young student who asked God to bless his teacher who had given him so much.

By: Emihner L. Johnson, IFCPIsland Food Community of Pohnpei(IFCP) presents its “GO LOCAL “ for CHEEF (Culture Health, Environment, Economy, Food Security) benefits at Seventh Day Adventist School(SDA) to the sixth and seventh graders on January 13, 2017. The presentation was presented by the Acting Director of IFCP, Ms Emihner Johnson 10am in the SDA Chapel to sixty four (64) 4th, 5t , and 6th graders.The workshop started with a worship hymn by some of the students and an opening prayer by the SDA Principal. After the presentation, like the other IFCP visiting schools, there was a quiz on the “GO LOCAL” for CHEEF presentation. On the quiz activity, yellow and orange pencils with its “GO LOCAL” slogan are given to each student answering the questions correctly as incentives.Another activity as part of this school visit is to distribute and educate on the MODFAT (Micronesian One Diet Fits All Today). These brochures was distributed to each student to take home. Explanation of the MODFAT was given by the Acting Director Johnson.In his closing remark, Principal Edward told the students and staff that the message was a very important one that SDA will promote the “GO LOCAL” campaign by having a policy in place: Starting this week, the cafeteria will serve a Local Plate or lunch which consists of local food and fish once in a week. This is in addition to their other healthy food policies that are already in place including, NO SODA, NO RAMEN, NO KOKO, NO WHITE BREAD, NO CHICKEN.Ripe local bananas were served as healthy snacks provide by IFCP to the students as they exit the Chapel.IFCP expressed their appreciation and thank deeply the SDA school and Principal for his passion and commitment to our “GO LOCAL” outreach program.GO LOCAL PRESENTATION AT POHNPEI SAINT PAUL CHRISTIAN SCHOOLOn January 16, 207, IFCP also presents its “GO LOCAL” for CHEEF (Culture Health, Environment, Economy, Food Security) benefits to the sixth and seventh graders of Pohnpei Saint Paul Christian School (PSPCS) in their classroom. The awareness team from IFCP consists of its Acting Executive Director and its Outreach Assistant, Ms. Neilynn Walter.All the Activities of MODFAT training and distribution of brochures and quiz on the “GO LOCAL” presentation and quiz were conducted at PSPCS.IFCP would like to thank the PSPCS for their cooperation and support on the GO LOCAL awareness. Special acknowledgement of thanks to Senator David Panuelo, US.DOI-TAP, Dept of Health and Social Affairs, PNI State and National Government for Funding Assistance.

From January 17-22, 2017, Chief Minister Dahker Abraham and Speaker Estepan Primo of U Municipal Government joined William Kostka of the Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT) on a learning exchange to Palau. The aim of the trip was twofold: 1) to learn about the conservation efforts in Palau, specifically about their coastal fisheries management efforts in the Northern Reefs (Kayangel and Ngarchelong)and their watershed management efforts inBabeldaob- Ngardmau; and 2) to learn about Palau’s ecotourism efforts, as well as some of their ongoing challenges with the growing mass tourism in Palau. Because the visit coincided with the Inauguration of the newly elected administration, the visiting team from U Municipal Government and MCT rep were able to attend the ceremonies. This allowed the team to meet with President Remengesau and other leaders from Palau and the region.The reason behind this learning exchange is to assist U Municipal leaders and its communities finalize and begin implementing the municipality’s own draft coastal fisheries management plan. A ceremony to adopt the plan is scheduled to take place later this month. The visit also gave the two U leaders a good sense of the types of eco-tourism activities that will be a good fit for the municipality. U Municipal leaders and other partners have begun the process of developing an eco-tourism plan. Implementation of some of the priority eco-tourism activities will be supported by a grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the FSM/Pohnpei. Chief Minister Abraham and Speaker Primo were inspired by their visit and are also very thankful to The Nature Conservancy Palau Office and to other local partners and to the communities who generously hosted them.

NORMA - FEB 2017The Federated States of Micronesia’s (FSM’s) National Oceanic and Resource Management Authority (NORMA) is partnering with Luen Thai Fishing Venture (LTFV) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to pilot an Electric Monitoring (EM) program that aims to fill data gaps needs in the monitoring of the nation’s lucrative longline tuna fisheries. The five vessel FSM EM pilot is part of a broader regional pilot that includes Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) Office and the Pacific Community (SPC).Mr. Eugene Pangelinan, NORMA’s CEO, noted that, “the partnership created as a result of this EM project represents a milestone for the parties involved. Using technology and innovation has always been a key component of our management efforts. Now with this partnership, we bring cutting-edge technology together with innovation from industry and NGOs that has the potential to change how we monitor and manage longline fishing in FSM and hopefully in all PNA waters.”Western and Central Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries are the largest in the world and the biggest single source of national revenue for many PNA members, a group of eight Pacific Island nations that collectively manage the majority of the region’s tuna fisheries.The region’s longline fishery has suffered from chronically-low levels of human observer coverage levels aboard vessels—less than five percent in most nations---which creates a substantial challenge for monitoring the fleet fishing in FSM’s waters. EM represents a potential breakthrough opportunity to complement the region’s human observer program and dramatically increase fleet and catch monitoring. EM taps high resolution cameras linked with synchronized and integrated GPS capabilities to continuously record and store all aspects of fishing operations. This will ultimately improve a multitude of areas including more accurate data on location and quantities of target and non-target catch and compliance with FSM laws and regulations as part of the agreed upon license provisions.According to TNC’s Steven Victor, “Improving data collection in FSM’s longline tuna fisheries has the potential for wide-ranging impacts including improved fishery sustainability and enhanced financial returns through the reduction of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, which may cost the region as much as $1.5 billion annually.”

FEB 2017 - The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s first missionary appeared in Pohnpei in 1989 and today there are Ahmadi Muslims in Kosrae and Pohnpei. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community professes the motto of “Love for All, Hatred for None”. The Religious Imam and Minister of FSM, Mahmood Kauser said “News of Muslims involved in disturbances around the world has made people think that my religion is dangerous, that is why I wish to not only share but assure everyone that my religion of Islam is a religion of peace”. To help educate people of all faiths, the Community holds annual conventions around the world in nearly every country that they are established. Since the Community is established currently in more than 209 Countries and nations, it was expected that this Annual Convention would one day also be held in Micronesia. Currently, Marshall Islands has had two such conventions and in the most recent Convention, the then US Ambassador Tom Armbruster along with representation of the President of Marshalls was in attendance and they spoke about Freedom of Religion and highlighted the humanitarian contributions of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. There is also an International Annual Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community held every year in London, UK where representatives of more than 90 countries and a total attendance of nearly 40 thousand join in. This convention aims to share and spread the message of Peace to people of All religions and backgrounds with an announcement of free admission and open to all public. The “Jalsa Salana” (meaning Annual Convention) is being held in Malem, Kosrae on Saturday 25th of February. Guest speakers from Kiribati, Marshalls and Mainland USA are all expected to join the program and share their thoughts of how we can attain peace and love in society.

HONOLULU, 25 JANUARY 2017 (HAWAII PUBLIC RADIO) --- French Naval forces caught three Vietnamese vessels fishing illegally in New Caledonia.Four others were detained there two weeks ago and last month Papua New Guinea’s Fisheries minister described the so-called Blue Boats as a threat to national security.While the small wooden boats will take shark fins, clams and fish, their main target is sea cucumber, also known as beche de mer.Almost all of catch will be dried and exported to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan to be consumed in soup alleged to act as an aphrodesiac.In the past, fleets of these raiders have shown up in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and Australia, and lately, in PNG and New Caledonia. All seven of the vessels detained this month were intercepted on a reef off Belep in northern New Caledonia and local media quoted a French Official, wondering how and where the small boats were refuelled to be able to stay at sea so long.Palau and Indonesia often burn the boats of illegal fishermen.But a fisheries advisor Francisco Blaha told Radio New Zealand that, while that looks great on television, it’s not enough. Blaha said the key is to warn Hanoi to control its fishermen, or face stiff penalties on its seafood exports to Europe."That will definitely get their attention because they depend massively on exports to the European Union, he said.James Movick, Director General of the Forum Fisheries Agency said its members will discuss how their systems to monitor tuna pirates on the open ocean might be applicable to the inshore fishing for Sea cucumbers at a meeting later this year.... PACNEWS

COLONIA, Yap (Civic Affairs)On December 29, 2016, the Office of the Governor transmitted a memorandum to the Yap State Leadership. The memorandum shared the official designation of co-chairs for the 9th Micronesian Games Organizing Committee, as well as the reorganization of the Committee.Governor Tony Ganngiyan, in his memo, shared with the State Leadership that— after convoking with Speaker Ted Rutun, FSMNOC Secretary General Jim Tobin and FSM Secretary of Education Kalwin Kephas, as well the respective Presidents of the Micronesian Games Council and Palau NOC—a collective decision was made to reorganize the Organizing Committee for the 2018 MicroGames. The reorganization was made to better spearhead all the essential preparations for Yap State to host the games in summer 2018.“Inevitably, time is not on our side”, stated Governor Ganngiyan in his memo, “since we are only a little over a year now before the games begin and all efforts on our part now is paramount whether you are in the public sector, private sector or in your respective communities”.Governor Ganngiyan officially designated Yap Sports Council Chairman Liyon Sulog and Director of Youth & Civic Affairs Francis I. Itimai as the Co-Chairs of the 9th MicroGames OC. He also tasked the co-chairs to undertake the following tasks:1. To re-evaluate the tasks assigned to the Organizing Committee and all the various sub-committees as to ensure that all the preparatory tasks and arrangements are undertaken to have Yap ready to host the 2018 MicroGames; and2. To re-organize the Organizing Committee and all the existing sub-committees to ensure that the assigned co-chairs and members are proactive in undertaking their assigned tasks so as to meet the given timelines.The Governor ended his memo by wishing all a prosperous New Year, and thanked all for their assistance and efforts thus far in ensuring that the necessary preparations for the state to be a good host are undergoing. “ We all must be mindful that we are not only anticipating very important people to be in our humble State during these games but also over 2,000 spectators [and] athletes. It is imperative that all planning and preparations are in place way before the games begin and I can only solicit your kind cooperation with the two co-chairs of the OC”.

ReutersJanuary 17, 2017Tokyo—The Federated States of Micronesia hopes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump changes his view on climate change, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, adding that global warming poses the biggest threat to low-lying island countries.Trump, set to take office on Friday, dismissed climate change as a hoax during his election campaign and vowed to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, a deal among nearly 200 countries to curb global warming.After his November election victory, he said he was keeping an open mind on whether to pull out of the accord. Some of his selections for top jobs in his administration are also skeptical about climate change.Micronesia's foreign secretary, Lorin Robert, told a news conference in Tokyo he hoped Trump would have a change of heart."The greatest threat to us Pacific island countries is climate change," Robert said following a meeting of foreign ministers and other representatives from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and 14 Pacific island nations."I hope that the next president of the United States will have a different view, in the matter of days, when he takes his office because I know in his heart he will have an appreciation what Pacific islanders are all about."Pacific island nations including Kiribati and Tuvalu are facing the brunt of climate change with rising seas and more violent storms raising grave doubts about their futures.British climate change scientists on Monday asked British Prime Minister Theresa May to press Trump to acknowledge climate change risks and support international action to slow global warming.The countries taking part in the Tokyo meeting included the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Robert Birsel)

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressJanuary 26, 2016Pohnpei, FSM—The Australian Embassy hosted a reception at their housing compound to commemorate Australia Day, a commemoration of the arrival of the first fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788.The ceremony began with a Pohnpeian sakau ceremony after which Second Secretary Eliza Woolcock welcomed the huge number of guests who had braved the weather to celebrate with the Australians.Three girls from the Youth 4 Change choir delivered vocal performances of the Australian and FSM National Anthems.Australia’s Ambassador George Fraser delivered the Australia Day address. In addition to being Australia’s Ambassador to the FSM, Palau, and RMI, Mr. Fraser is well read and an excellent writer.He began his speech with a physical description of Australia as one of the “oldest and driest continents” in the world with comparable, though somewhat smaller size than the United States, Canada, or Brazil but with far fewer rivers. Australia’s comparatively small population of 24 million people tends to live where there is water in the coastal areas.Though the Australia Day celebration commemorates what amounted to the beginning of European settlement of the continent beginning 229 years ago with the arrival of the first fleet, the Europeans were certainly not the first to arrive. Ambassador Fraser pointed out that the first settlers actually arrived approximate 60,000 years ago at the dawn of mankind, “where they adapted to harsh conditions and thrived, and they developed over 250 language groups before European settlement. They now represent only 3% of our population.”

On January 23, 2017, a handover ceremony was held at the repair shop of Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, Kosrae State Government, for the Project for Procuring a Cesspit Cleaner Truck in Kosrae State, which provided US$96,940 for Department of Transportation and Infrastructure under the grant aid scheme called Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects. The aim for this project is to improve the environment and the sanitation in the community by conducting almost all of the cesspits cleaning in Kosrae state.At the handover ceremony, the Government of Japan handed over a cesspit cleaner truck to Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DT&I). Following the handover ceremony, under the auspices of Japanese engineers dispatched from manufactory of vehicle provided, hands-on training on use and maintenance of cesspit cleaner truck was held.In his speech during the ceremony, Mr. Koji Sugiyama, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan, presented his remarks hoping that the car will be used for a long term period by being maintained well. Representing DT&I, Acting Director Thansley Kinere acknowledged the Embassy of Japan for the generous grant. He also stated that the vehicle will help protecting the environment in communities in Kosrae state.Present at the ceremony were Mr.Osamu Nedlic, Administrative Officer at DT&I, and staffs of DT&I and the Embassy of Japan.

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressJanuary 26, 2017Pohnpei, FSM—Two days after The Kaselehlie Press published its article on fiber optic repairs that affected the FSM, repairs were completed and FSM Telecommunications Corporation immediately began migrating the services for their Pohnpei ADSL customers back to the fiber optic line to restore service to pre-repair levels.Last evening FSMTC notified me that my article on the preparations that FSMTC had made to prepare for the repairs contained some errors fundamentally involving mentions of services I said were provided by O3B. They said that FSMTC never utilized the services of O3B in the backup plans and in fact that company was never considered. The method used to route and provide domestic and international services was changed for the period of time that the fiber optic line was being repaired, but the services of O3B were not used.We also said that the crew making the repairs was from Tyco. They were from TE Subcom.The information that we published was from our understanding of more than a week of email exchanges with one of FSMTC’s representatives. Errors in the article were apparently introduced by our misunderstanding of some of the responses and requests for clarifications to dozens of questions that we asked.FSMTC said that they would be issuing their own press release on the matter but at press time, that press release still had not been received.A corrected version of the article can be found here.

On January 24, 2017, Mr. Clayton Lawrence took the oath of office and was commissioned into the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) as Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Clayton Lawrence. LTJG Dylan Berns from the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Eleven, the Construction Civic Action Detail Liaison Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kolonia, administered the oath.Ambassador Robert Riley congratulated LTJG Lawrence in his opening remarks, saying, “We are honored to host this special occasion and we are sorry that we will be losing you at the Department of Justice - you’ve been a great help to all of us. On the other hand, you will be moving on to greater things and we certainly wish you the best on this new journey and I hope that everything goes on as you wish.”. LTJG Lawrence expressed his gratitude to the many wonderful families and friends that have supported him in achieving his goal of becoming a Navy JAG.

LTJG Lawrence moved to Micronesia in March 2014 and served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Pohnpei under Attorney General Judah C. Johnny. After serving the state of Pohnpei, he joined the FSM Department of Justice in May 2015 as an Assistant Attorney General. Shortly thereafter, he was designated Chief of the Litigation Division by Attorney General Joses R. Gallen, becoming responsible for, among other things, instituting criminal investigations and proceedings, and representing and defending all civil actions and proceedings involving the FSM.In 2015, he initiated a scholarship at Xavier High School in Chuuk State that pays four years of a student’s tuition. It is awarded to a student who demonstrates academic excellence and financial need.FSM national government, state government, Australian Embassy, and U.S. Embassy officials as well as close friends and family of LTJG Lawrence joined in the occasion. The American Ambassador and Embassy staff congratulates Clayton Lawrence and wish him fair seas and following winds.

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressJanuary 25, 2017Pohnpei, FSM—Since July 20, 2016, Young Sun International and Pohnpei State have been barred from executing a contract to harvest sea cucumbers for export after the FSM Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (CA 2016-014). Six months after that restraining order was issued, the court is still hearing and ruling on what amounts to preliminary motions on the “sea cucumber case”.Currently the court is deliberating on an evidentiary hearing on a motion to dismiss that was filed by attorney Joseph Phillip on behalf of Young Sun Incorporated on the matter of whether or not the Mwoalen Wahu en Pohnpei has legal standing to bring suit. Pohnpei State’s attorneys joined that motion and David Angyal, attorney for the Mwoalen Wahu filed an opposition.

By Master Sgt. Benjamin Wilson,407th Air Expeditionary Group Public AffairsU.S. AIR FORCES CENTRAL COMMAND

January 16, 2017SOUTHWEST ASIA -- U.S. service members ordinarily have to say goodbye to family as they head out for deployments, but one deployment brought a brother and sister together after 10 years of separation.U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mary Jane Palumbo and her brother, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Quincy Mora, were able to meet outside a military air terminal in Southwest Asia for a couple of hours as he forward deployed closer to the fight.Both brother and sister are currently deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve to militarily defeat Daesh, also referred to as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.Palumbo, 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron aviation resource manager, last saw her brother when he was on his way home from his first tour in Iraq.She was vacationing in Hawaii when he stopped for a layover en route to their hometown of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.